By Peter Newell and Abigail Martin, University of Sussex
Achieving and replicating rapid transitions that are both far-reaching and unprecedented in terms of scale—which, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) suggests, are required to keep warming below 1.5°C — means engaging with the deep politics of transition and transformation.
In this EIT Climate-KIC working paper, the authors argue that it implies supporting political and institutional innovations that disrupt incumbent power and enable new actors and voices to drive socially just transitions. They suggest such innovations are a requisite to effective innovations in technology and to rapid decarbonisation that does not entrench social inequalities.